Biography

Vincent served as the deacon of Valerius of Saragossa, the city's
bishop. Imprisoned in Valencia
for his faith, and tortured on a gridiron — a story perhaps adapted
from the martyrdom of another son of Huesca, Saint Lawrence— Vincent, like many early
martyrs in the early hagiographic literature, succeeded in
converting his jailer. Though he was finally offered release if he
would consign Scripture
to the fire, Vincent refused.

The earliest account of Vincent's martyrdom is in a
carmen (lyric poem) written by the poet Prudentius, who wrote a
series of lyric poems, Peristephanon ("Crowns of
Martyrdom"), on Hispanic
and Roman martyrs.
Prudentius describes how Vincent was brought to trial along with
his bishop Valerius, and that since Valerius had a speech
impediment, Vincent spoke for both, but that his outspoken fearless
manner so angered the governor that Vincent was tortured and
martyred, though his aged bishop was only exiled.

According to legend, after being martyted, ravens protected St.
Vincent's body from being devoured by wild animals, until his
followers could recover the body. His body was taken to what is now
known as Cape
St. Vincent; a shrine was erected over his grave, which
continued to be guarded by flocks of ravens. King Afonso Henriques (1139-1185) had the body
of the saint exhumed in 1173 and brought it by ship to the Monastery of São Vicente
de Fora in Lisbon. This transfer of the relics is depicted on
the coat of arms of Lisbon.[1]

Legacy and
veneration

Three elaborated hagiographies, all based ultimately on a lost
5th century Passion, circulated in the Middle Ages.

Though Vincent's tomb in Valencia became the earliest center of
his cult, he was also honoured at his
birthplace and his reputation spread from Saragossa. The city of Oviedo in Asturias grew about the church dedicated to
Vincent. Beyond the Pyrenees, he was venerated first in the
vicinity of Béziers,
and at Narbonne. Castres became an important
stop on the international pilgrimage routes to Santiago de Compostela when the
relics of Vincent were transferred to its new abbey-church
dedicated to Saint Benedict from Saragossa in 863, under
the patronage of Salomon, count of Cerdanya.

The Cape Verde
island of São Vicente, a former Portuguese
colony, was named in his honour. St Vincent in the Caribbean
was named by Columbus, since it was “discovered” on 22 January, the
feast day of the patron saint of Portugal, Vincent of
Saragossa.